April 2009

Joe Blanton loses his first game as a Phil as the Nationals gain their first win of the year as they defeat the Phils, 8-2.

The Phillies’ Joe Blanton loses his first start since being traded to the Phils, as he and the relief corps were the victims of several home runs launched by the Nationals as the Phils fall to the Nationals, 8-2.

The Nationals took a quick 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Adam Dunn hit a three-run home run, his third home run of the season, knocking in both Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman, who had both earlier singled, while the two had moved up to third and second base respectively on Zimmerman’s single, as Pedro Feliz committed a catch error on the play. Those would turn out to be the only runs that Joe Blanton would give up as he proceeded to pitch the Phillies’ starters first quality start as he kept the Nationals scoreless for the next five innings. The Phillies, meantime, proceeded to cut down the Nats’ lead. They first made it 3-1 in the fourth as Raul Ibanez, with two men outs, singled in Chase Utley, who had earlier singled and had moved over to second base on Ryan Howard’s ground out to first. The Phils then cut the lead down to 3-2 in the fifth as Jimmy Rollins hit a sacrifice fly, knocking in Lou Marson, who had earlier doubled and had moved over to third on Blanton’s sacrifice bunt. But, the bullpen, this time, would be unable to keep the game close. In the seventh, Chad Durbin gave up a lead-off, solo home run to Josh Willingham, Willingham’s first home run of the year, making it 4-2 Nats. Then in the eighth, Jack Taschner would give up four runs to the Natonals. Elijah Dukes started things off by hitting a lead-off, solo home run, his second hme run of the season, increasing the Nationals’ lead to 5-2. Three batters later, Alberto Gonzalez made it 6-2 Nationals by hitting a solo home run with two outs, his first home run of the year. Two batters later, Anderson Hernandez made it 7-2 Nats with an RBI single, knocking in Roger Bernadina, who had earlier walked and then stole second base. Zimmerman increased the Nationals’ lead to 8-2 by bringing home Hernandez, who had moved up to second base on Johnson’s walk, while Johnson would move up to second. That would end up being the final score as Joel Hanrahan came in and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the Nationals, giving them their first win of the season.

Joe Blanton took the lost, his first since his trade last year to the Phils from the Oakland A’s, as he pitched six solid innings, giving up just three runs on eight hits and one walk, while he struck out five. His record is now 0-1 with a still high ERA of 9.00. Chad Durbin pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on a hit and two walks. Jack Taschner pitched an inning, getting smoked for four runs on four hits and two walks as he struck out two. J.A. Happ pitched two-thirds of an inning, getting out the only man he would face. Shairon Martis picked up the win for the Nationals, as he went six and one-thirds innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out one. His record is now 1-0 with a 4.82 ERA. Mike Hinckley pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs or hits. Joe Beimel pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Joel Hanrahan also pitched a 1-2-3 inning, with a strike out, ending the game for the Nationals.

The Phillies had only five hits in the game, with both Raul Ibanez and Lou Marson collecting two hits. Ibanez, who raised his average to .303, went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Marson, catching in his first game since being called up because of Carlos Ruiz’s injury, went two for three, including a double, as he scored a run. Chase Utley had the other Phils’ hit, a single, as he went 1 for 3 with a walk, scoring a run, as his average dropped to .393. Jimmy Rollins knocked in the other Phils’ run with a sacrifice fly. The Phils other .300 hitters at the moment, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz saw their batting averages drop as they all took the collar (.313, .313 and .308 respectively).

The Phillies (4-4, 3rd) now come home for a seven-games home stand, starting with a four-games series with the San Diego Padres (7-3, T-1st National League West). The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and will begin after 7 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be their ace Cole Hamels (0-1, 17.18), who is coming off a rocky start against the Colorado Rockies last friday night. He gave up seven runs on eleven hits and a walk, while striking out only one batter in three and two-thirds innings of work, in the Phils’ 10-3 lost. He will be trying to recover from that poor start. The Padres will counter with Chris Young (2-0, 1.38), who is coming off a win against the San Francisco Giants on April 12, where he pitched seven strong innings, giving up no runs on four hits, while striking out seven, in the Padres’ 6-1 win. He will be looking to increase his record to 3-0 at the Phillies’ expense. The Phillies will come home, preparing several tributes in the memory of the late Harry Kalas, while trying to see if they can get back onto the winning track.

About a couple of months ago…

I’d mentioned that I had started volunteering at the Drexel University Archives. Well, the fruits of the first project that I was involved in is now online, as an exhibit, which shows off some of the materials taken from the collection that I was working on, which was to create a finding aid for a collection on Drexel University’s Men’s Basketball Team. And yes, the exhibit was created by me, under the guidance of the University’s Archivist. Anyway, here’s the url for the exhibit: http://www.library.drexel.edu/archives/displays/exhibits/show/basketball . I know that this is more college basketball related than it is baseball, but it does show everyone what I have been doing during the last couple of months. Enjoy.

Tonight’s game between the Phillies and the Nationals…

has just been called because of rain. The next game will therefore be played tomorrow night, with Joe Blanton (0-0, 15.75) pitching for the Phils (4-3) and Shairon Martis (0-0, 9.00) pitching for the Nationals (0-7). Tonight’s rainout will be made up at a future date.

Preview: Phillies v. Nationals at Nationals Park – Wednesday night, 7:05 pm Eastern.

The Phillies (4-3) continued their first visit to the nation’s capitol as they face the Nationals (0-7) at Nationals Park, for the second game of their three-games series. The Phils are looking to make it four wins in a row as they send Joe Blanton to the mound. Blanton (0-0, 15.75) is coming off a bad start against the Atlanta Braves on April 8, where he only went four innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits and two walks, while striking out six, in the Phillies’ come from behind 12-11 win. Against the Nationals, Blanton is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA in three starts. He hopes to rebound in his start tonight, looking for his first win of the year. The winless Nationals will counter with Shairon Martis (0-0, 9.00), who is also coming off of a bad start. In his case, he is coming off a no-decision against the Braves on April 10, where he went only three innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk, as he only struck out one, in the Nationals’ 6-5 lost. He will also be looking to pitch a better game, hoping that the Phils’ bats won’t erupt on him.

The Phillies have also made a few announcements concerning the late Harry Kalas. Starting tomorrow, the players, coaches and manager Charlie Manuel will all be wearing, for the rest of the season, on their uniforms a black circular patch, with the letters HK in the middle of the patch in white, that will be placed on the front of their uniforms, near the players’ hearts, for the rest of the season. They also plan to have a tribute for him at Citizens Bank Park before their Friday night game with the San Diego Padres, and on Saturday, they will allow fans to pay their last respect to him on a first-come, first-serve basis, from 8 am to 12:45 pm, to get as many fans through as they can, followed at 1 pm by an on-field tribute for those fans who will be attending the game.

The latest Leader Lists are up and….

Phillies Red Pinstripes is still among the leaders, rising up to no. 35 among the top 50 fans blogs. I would like to, once again, thanks everyone for stopping by my blog. For those of you who do not know yet, here’s the most recent fans blogs leaders list:

FANS
1. Confessions of a She-Fan
2. Pick Me Up Some Mets!
3. Red State Blue State
4. Julia’s Rants
5. The 1 Constant…Baseball
6. FutureAngels.com
7. The Future Blog of the Red Sox
8. Rockpile Rant
9. Eat, Sleep, Baseball
10. A Diatribe from a Law Student: Baseball Edition
11. Phillies Phollowers
12. Life and Indians Baseball through the Eyes of a Clemson Girl
13. Rays Renegade
14. The ‘Burgh Blues
15. Unfinished Business
16. Plunking Gomez
17. The Happy Youngster…Brew Town’s Ballhawk
18. THE BOSTON RED SOX BLOG
19. The Closer
20. Baseball Cleats & Shoes
21. Baseball, The Yankees, and Life…
22. I’m Not A Headline Guy…
23. Chirp Chatter
24. King of Cali
25. Mets Go
26. Flair For The Dramatic
27. Yankees Chick
28. Bruce Markusen’s Cooperstown Confidential
29. The Blogger in the Gloamin’
30. The Season Experience
31. Short Porch in Right
32. King Yankees
33. Baseball Canadiana
34. Peace, Love, and Baseball
35. Phillies Red Pinstripes
36. Blogging Dodgers and Baseball
37. Statistician Magician
38. LA NACION MEDIAS ROJAS
39. Baseball Bats
40. The Watercooler
41. Cambios y Curvas
42. A Misplaced Astros Fan
43. Cubs Gal Who Loves Baseball
44. Fantasy Hardball: a bloop and a blast
45. Rocky Mountain Way…Outside Coors looking in
46. Counting Baseballs
47. All Baseball All The Time
48. The Yankees Baseball Whisperer
49. Yogi Brewer
50. I Live for This

Stop by all of them, won’t you. Also congrats once again to Phillies Phollowers who is still hanging around the top ten at no. 11.

The Phillies have now won three games in a row as they defeat the Nats in a wild one, 9-8.

Hours after their beloved voice had died in a local Washington hospital, the Phillies hung on to win a wild one in the nation’s capital as they defeat the Nationals, 9-8. The victory gave them their first three games winning streak of the season.

The Nationals took an early lead in the first, as Elijah Dukes hit a two-out RBI double, scoring Cristian Guzman, who had earlier singled and had stolen second base, giving the Nats a 1-0 lead. The Phillies came back in the second, tying the game up at one apiece on a bases loaded walk to Chris Coste, scoring Jayson Werth, who had earlier singled, moved to second on a force out attempt, fielding error at second base by second baseman Anderson Hernandez on a Raul Ibanez grounder and a walk to Pedro Feliz. The Phils then took a 2-1 lead as starter Jamie Moyer hit a sacrifice fly to left, as Ibanez crossed the plate ahead of left fielder’s Adam Dunn’s throw to the plate. Washington tied it up at two all in their half of the second as Guzman hit a two-out RBI single, scoring Hernandez who had earlier singled, and had moved up to second base on Nats’ starter Daniel Carbrera’s sacifice bunt. The Phils retook the lead in the top of the third on Shane Victorino’s lead-off home run, his first home run of the year, making it 3-2 Phils. The Phillies made it 4-2 in the fourth as Jimmy Rollins hit a two-out RBI double, knocking in Feliz, who had earlier singled to left and had gone to second on Dunn’s fielding error and then moved on to third on Moyer’s ground out, 6-3. The Nationals got one of those runs back in their half of the fourth on a two-out single by Guzman, scoring Lastings Milledge, who had earlier single and stole second, making it a 4-3 Phillies’ lead. The Nats then tied the game up at four all in the fifth as Dukes hit a one-out solo home run, his first home run of the year. The Phils retook the lead for good in the seventh, as Ryan Howard hit a three-run home, his first home run of the year, scoring both Victorino and Chase Utley, who had both reached base after being hit by the pitch, with nobody out, making it 7-4 Phils. Two batters later, with one man out, Ibanez hit a solo shot, his third home run of the season, to make the score 8-4 Phils. In the bottom half of the inning, the Nats got two of the runs back on an one-out, two-run home run by Dunn, his second home run of the season, scoring Guzman, who had earlier singled, making it an 8-6 Phils’ lead. The Phils added an insurance run in the eighth, as Victorino hit a sacrifice fly, scoring pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett, who had earlier doubled and moved to third on a Rollins’ ground out, 4-3. In the ninth inning, the Nats made the game close as Ryan Zimmerman hit a two-run home run, with no one out, his second home run of the season, off of closer Brad Lidge, knocking in pinch runner Alberto Gonzalez, who was pinch running for Guzman, who had earlier singled, making it a 9-8 Phillies’ lead. But that would be the final score as Lidge went on to strike out Dunn on five pitches, get Dukes to strike out on four pitches and then get Nick Johnson to ground out to Howard for the final out, to record his third save of the season.

Jamie Moyer got the win as he pitched a good game for the Phillies, going six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks, as he struck out five. His record is now 1-1 with a too high ERA of 6.55. Clay Condrey pitched two thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on two hits. Scott Eyre went a third of an inning, getting out the only man he would face. Ryan Madson then pitched a scoreless eighth inning, holding the lead as he struck out two. Brad Lidge recorded his third save of the year as he went one inning, giving up two runs on two hits, as he struck out two men. Daniel Carbera got a no-decision as he pitched five innings, giving up four runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits and two walks, while striking out only two batters. Julian Tavarez then pitched two thirds of an inning, giving up a walk, as he struck out two. Mike Hinckley then pitched a third of an inning, striking out the only man he would face. Saul Rivera took the lost as he pitched an inning, giving up four runs on two hits and two hit batters, as he struck out one Phil. His record is now 0-1 with a 8.44 ERA. Wilfredo Ledezma would pitch an inning, giving up a run on one hit. Joe Beimel pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up only one hit.

The Phils collected ten hits in the game, with Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez leading the way with two hits each. Howard and Ibanez both hit home runs, with Howard’s being a three-run blast and Ibanez’s a solo shot, while Ibanez also hit a double. Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Pedro Feliz and Eric Bruntlett had the Phils’ other four hits, with Victorino’s hit being a solo home run, while Rollins and Bruntlett’s hits were doubles. Besides Howard’s three RBI’s and Ibanez’s one, Victorino knocked in two, the second one on a sac fly, Rollins knocked in a run, Jamie Moyer plated a run with a sacrifice fly and Coste brought in one on a bases loaded walk. Howard raised his batting average to .345 and Werth increased his to .357 with their two hits, while Feliz is now hitting .364 thanks to his lone hit. Utley’s batting average dropped down to .400 as he went 0 for 4 in the game. 

The Phillies (4-3) have the day off tomorrow. Although they were originally schedule to go to the White House to meet the President, that function has been cancelled because of Harry Kalas’ death earlier this afternoon. The next Phillies’ game will be played against the Nationals (0-7) Wednesday night from Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The game will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send to the mound Joe Blanton (0-1, 15.75), who is coming off a no-decision against the Braves on April 9, when he went only four innings, giving up nine runs on eleven hits and two walks, while striking out six, in the Phils 12-11 come from behind win. Blanton will be looking to improve upon his previous start. The Nationals’ starter is yet to be announced. The Phils will be looking to make it four wins in a row on Wednesday.

The Phillies announced that they have lost their voice as Harry Kalas dies in Washington hospital hours before today’s game.

This was earlier posted on Phillies.com:

Phils broadcaster Kalas passes away

Long-time announcer collapses prior to Monday’s game

WASHINGTON — Long-time Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas died at 1:20 p.m. ET Monday, shortly after collapsing in the team’s broadcast booth before the scheduled series opener against the Nationals.

“We lost Harry. I’ve been 39 years with the Phillies and 39 years with Harry and, as I said in this clubhouse, we lost our voice today,” said team president and CEO David Montgomery at about 1:50 p.m. outside the team’s clubhouse. “He has loved our game and made just a tremendous contribution to our sport and certainly to our organization.”

The 73-year old Kalas was found in the team’s broadcast booth around 12:30 p.m. and was taken to George Washington University Medical Center. Team officials quickly cleared the locker room and talked with the Phillies.

Montgomery said he didn’t know the exact cause of death yet.

“I know that when they took him away that they were very concerned,” he said.

Kalas had been the team’s broadcaster for the past 38 years. Prior to that, he was a member of the Houston Astros’ broadcast team from 1965-70. He was inducted into the broadcaster’s wing of the Hall of Fame in 2002 and received the 2002 Ford C. Frick Award.

Montgomery said Monday’s game would be played, but that the Phillies were going to reach out to the White House and pass up Tuesday’s scheduled trip there.

H/T Phillies.com

Like a lot of Phillies’ fans, I grew up listening to both him and Richie Ashburn. Now they’re both gone. Goodbye, Harry, thanks for all those wonderful broadcasts, and I hope that Richie will be the first one there to meet you in broadcaster heaven. 

Excuse me, folks, but I need a hanky.

Matt Stairs’ pinch hit, two-run home run in the top of the ninth help propel the Phils into their first series win as they defeat the Rockies, 7-5.

The bullpen’s five and one-third innings of shut out pitching allowed the Phillies to come from behind, capped off by Matt Stairs’ pinch hit two-run home run in the ninth inning, to defeat the Rockies, 7-5. The victory gave the Phils their first series win in the 2009 season as they head to the nation’s capital to face the winless Nationals.

 After Rockies’ starter, Aaron Cook, had put the Phils down easily in the top of the first inning, Chan Ho Park took the mound to begin his first start as a Phil. He started off nicely by getting the lead-off hitter, Dexter Fowler, to ground out, 4-3, for the inning’s first out. Everything would then go badly after that, as Park’s breaking balls wouldn’t break within Denver’s higher attitude. After Ryan Spilborghs got on base with an one-out single, Brad Hawpe followed him with an RBI double, scoring Spilborghs, and giving the Rockies a quick 1-0 lead. After Park threw a passed ball, allowing Hawpe to reach third, Garrett Atkins brought him home with an RBI single, making the score 2-0 Rockies. Ian Stewart followed him with a single, sending Atkins over to second. The next batter, Troy Tulowitzki, walked, loading the bases with still only one man out. Park then struck out Chris Iannetta for the inning’s second out, thus seeing his chance to get out of the inning with very little damage. Sadly, it was not to be as Clint Barmes hit a two-out single, scoring both Atkins and Stewart, while sending Tulowitzki to third, giving the Rockies a 4-0 lead. Cook, the ninth batter of the inning, finally ended it by grounding out, 1-3. The Phillies got a run back in the top of the second, as, with a runner on second and one man out, Raul Ibanez hit a line drive that bounced off of Cook’s butt and then headed into the hole between shortstop and third for a single, as Ryan Howard, who had earlier double, quickly rounded third and scored on a heads up play, as Rockies’ shortstop, Tulowitzki, is unable to make a good throw to home plate, thus allowing Ibanez to reach second on the throw, making it 4-1 Rockies. The Rockies got that run back in the bottom half of the inning, as Fowler hit a lead-off solo home run, his second home run of the year, giving the Rockies a 5-1 lead. After nobody scored a run in the third, the Phillies got their second run in the fourth, as Jayson Werth knocked in Chase Utley, who had earlier singled, and had stole second when Howard struck out swinging, cutting the Rockies lead to 5-2. In the bottom half of the inning, after Park had given up a single to Spilborghs and had walked Hawpe, with one out, Charlie Manuel took him out of the game, and brought in Chad Durbin to keep the game close. Durbin did his job as he got Atkins to fly out to center for the second out of the inning and then struck out Stewart, swinging, to end the threat. The Phillies made it 5-3 Rockies in the sixth, when, with two men on base and one out, Werth knocked in his second RBI of the game, scoring Utley, who had earlier walked and had gone to second on Howard’s single, as Howard stopped at second base. In the bottom half of the inning, the Rockies would threathen again, as, with one out, Durbin gave up a single to Fowler, and then walked Spilborghs. Manuel then came out of the dugout and replaced Durbin with Scott Eyre. Eyre proceeded to do his job as he got Hawpe to fly out to left for the inning’s second out and then got Atkins to foul out to Howard to end the inning. Then in the eighth, the Phillies tied the game up at five all as Utley hit a two-run home run off of Manuel Corpas, his first home run of the year, as he knocked in Shane Victorino, who has earlier singled. Ryan Madson came in to pitched the bottom of the inning, and he pitched a 1-2-3 inning. In the ninth inning, with a runner on third and one man out, pinch hitter Matt Stairs would come to the plate and hit a 1-1 fastball into the right center field for a pinch hit two-run home run, giving the Phils a 7-5 lead, as he scored Pedro Feliz, who had earlier double and had gone to third on Chris Coste’s sacrifice bunt. In the bottom of the ninth, Brad Lidge took the mound for the Phils. After getting the first two men out, Lidge gave up a single to pinch hitter Jeff Baker, and then walked Stewart, bringing up the winning run to the plate in the person of Tulowitzki. On a 1-2 pitch, he got Tulowitzki to ground out, 4-3, for the final out, as he records his second save of the season.

Chan Ho Park received a no-decision, as he was only able to pitch three and a third innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out two. Chad Durbin pitched two scoreless innings, giving up no runs on one hit and a walk, as he struck out two. Scott Eyre pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs or hits. Clay Condrey pitched a scoreless inning, striking out a batter. Ryan Madson got the win as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. His record is now 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Brad Lidge pitched an inning, as he recorded his second save in two tries, giving up no runs on a hit and a walk, as he struck out a batter. Aaron Cook also received a no-decision as he pitched six strong innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out two. Jason Grilli pitched a third of an inning in relief, giving up no runs on one hit, while striking out one. Alan Embree pitched two thirds of an inning, giving up no runs or hits. Manuel Corpas blew the save, as he gave up two runs on three hits, while striking out a batter. Huston Street took the lost as he gave up two runs on two hits, while striking out a batter. His record is now 0-1 with a high ERA of 10.13. The Phils’ starters are still looking for their first quality start after two full series.

The Phillies had thriteen hits in the ballgame, with Ryan Howard leading the way as he went 3 for 4 (2 singles, 1 double), and scored a run as he raised his batting average for the season to .333. Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz followed with each man getting two hits in the game. Utley had a single and a home run, his first of the season, as he knocked in two runs and scored three, raising his batting average to .476, placing him fourth among the league leaders in batting. Werth had two singles, knocking in two runs, as he increased his batting average to .348. Feliz had a single and a double, scoring a run, as he increased his batting average to .368. Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, Chad Durbin and Matt Stairs had the other four Phillies’ hit, with Ibanez knocking in one run and Stairs hitting a pinch-hit two-run home run. Through six games, the Phillies’ team batting average is .271, presently fifth in the National League.

The Phillies (3-3), continue their six-games road trip by going to the nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C. for a three-games series with the presently winless Nationals (0-6). The first game of the series will be played this afternoon at Nationals Park. Game time will be 3:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Jamie Moyer, who will be trying to recover from his bad outing against the Braves on April 7, when he gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks, as he struck out two batters, as he pitched for five innings. His record is presently 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA. Moyer willing be trying to give the Phillies their first quality start by one of their starters. His opponent will be Daniel Cabrera, who lost his first start against the Marlins, as he went six innings, giving up five runs on seven hits, with an ERA of 7.50 in the Nationals’ 6-1 lost on April 8. He will be trying to give the Nationals their first win of the season.

Matt Stairs’ pinch hit, two-run home run in the top of the ninth help propel the Phils into their first series win as they defeat the Rockies, 7-5.

The bullpen’s five and one-third innings of shut out pitching allowed the Phillies to come from behind, capped off by Matt Stairs’ pinch hit two-run home run in the ninth inning, to defeat the Rockies, 7-5. The victory gave the Phils their first series win in the 2009 season as they head to the nation’s capital to face the winless Nationals.

 After Rockies’ starter, Aaron Cook, had put the Phils down easily in the top of the first inning, Chan Ho Park took the mound to begin his first start as a Phil. He started off nicely by getting the lead-off hitter, Dexter Fowler, to ground out, 4-3, for the inning’s first out. Everything would then go badly after that, as Park’s breaking balls wouldn’t break within Denver’s higher attitude. After Ryan Spilborghs got on base with an one-out single, Brad Hawpe followed him with an RBI double, scoring Spilborghs, and giving the Rockies a quick 1-0 lead. After Park threw a passed ball, allowing Hawpe to reach third, Garrett Atkins brought him home with an RBI single, making the score 2-0 Rockies. Ian Stewart followed him with a single, sending Atkins over to second. The next batter, Troy Tulowitzki, walked, loading the bases with still only one man out. Park then struck out Chris Iannetta for the inning’s second out, thus seeing his chance to get out of the inning with very little damage. Sadly, it was not to be as Clint Barmes hit a two-out single, scoring both Atkins and Stewart, while sending Tulowitzki to third, giving the Rockies a 4-0 lead. Cook, the ninth batter of the inning, finally ended it by grounding out, 1-3. The Phillies got a run back in the top of the second, as, with a runner on second and one man out, Raul Ibanez hit a line drive that bounced off of Cook’s butt and then headed into the hole between shortstop and third for a single, as Ryan Howard, who had earlier double, quickly rounded third and scored on a heads up play, as Rockies’ shortstop, Tulowitzki, is unable to make a good throw to home plate, thus allowing Ibanez to reach second on the throw, making it 4-1 Rockies. The Rockies got that run back in the bottom half of the inning, as Fowler hit a lead-off solo home run, his second home run of the year, giving the Rockies a 5-1 lead. After nobody scored a run in the third, the Phillies got their second run in the fourth, as Jayson Werth knocked in Chase Utley, who had earlier singled, and had stole second when Howard struck out swinging, cutting the Rockies lead to 5-2. In the bottom half of the inning, after Park had given up a single to Spilborghs and had walked Hawpe, with one out, Charlie Manuel took him out of the game, and brought in Chad Durbin to keep the game close. Durbin did his job as he got Atkins to fly out to center for the second out of the inning and then struck out Stewart, swinging, to end the threat. The Phillies made it 5-3 Rockies in the sixth, when, with two men on base and one out, Werth knocked in his second RBI of the game, scoring Utley, who had earlier walked and had gone to second on Howard’s single, as Howard stopped at second base. In the bottom half of the inning, the Rockies would threathen again, as, with one out, Durbin gave up a single to Fowler, and then walked Spilborghs. Manuel then came out of the dugout and replaced Durbin with Scott Eyre. Eyre proceeded to do his job as he got Hawpe to fly out to left for the inning’s second out and then got Atkins to foul out to Howard to end the inning. Then in the eighth, the Phillies tied the game up at five all as Utley hit a two-run home run off of Manuel Corpas, his first home run of the year, as he knocked in Shane Victorino, who has earlier singled. Ryan Madson came in to pitched the bottom of the inning, and he pitched a 1-2-3 inning. In the ninth inning, with a runner on third and one man out, pinch hitter Matt Stairs would come to the plate and hit a 1-1 fastball into the right center field for a pinch hit two-run home run, giving the Phils a 7-5 lead, as he scored Pedro Feliz, who had earlier double and had gone to third on Chris Coste’s sacrifice bunt. In the bottom of the ninth, Brad Lidge took the mound for the Phils. After getting the first two men out, Lidge gave up a single to pinch hitter Jeff Baker, and then walked Stewart, bringing up the winning run to the plate in the person of Tulowitzki. On a 1-2 pitch, he got Tulowitzki to ground out, 4-3, for the final out, as he records his second save of the season.

Chan Ho Park received a no-decision, as he was only able to pitch three and a third innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks, while striking out two. Chad Durbin pitched two scoreless innings, giving up no runs on one hit and a walk, as he struck out two. Scott Eyre pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs or hits. Clay Condrey pitched a scoreless inning, striking out a batter. Ryan Madson got the win as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. His record is now 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Brad Lidge pitched an inning, as he recorded his second save in two tries, giving up no runs on a hit and a walk, as he struck out a batter. Aaron Cook also received a no-decision as he pitched six strong innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out two. Jason Grilli pitched a third of an inning in relief, giving up no runs on one hit, while striking out one. Alan Embree pitched two thirds of an inning, giving up no runs or hits. Manuel Corpas blew the save, as he gave up two runs on three hits, while striking out a batter. Huston Street took the lost as he gave up two runs on two hits, while striking out a batter. His record is now 0-1 with a high ERA of 10.13. The Phils’ starters are still looking for their first quality start after two full series.

The Phillies had thriteen hits in the ballgame, with Ryan Howard leading the way as he went 3 for 4 (2 singles, 1 double), and scored a run as he raised his batting average for the season to .333. Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz followed with each man getting two hits in the game. Utley had a single and a home run, his first of the season, as he knocked in two runs and scored three, raising his batting average to .476, placing him fourth among the league leaders in batting. Werth had two singles, knocking in two runs, as he increased his batting average to .348. Feliz had a single and a double, scoring a run, as he increased his batting average to .368. Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, Chad Durbin and Matt Stairs had the other four Phillies’ hit, with Ibanez knocking in one run and Stairs hitting a pinch-hit two-run home run. Through six games, the Phillies’ team batting average is .271, presently fifth in the National League.

The Phillies (3-3), continue their six-games road trip by going to the nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C. for a three-games series with the presently winless Nationals (0-6). The first game of the series will be played this afternoon at Nationals Park. Game time will be 3:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Jamie Moyer, who will be trying to recover from his bad outing against the Braves on April 7, when he gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks, as he struck out two batters, as he pitched for five innings. His record is presently 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA. Moyer willing be trying to give the Phillies their first quality start by one of their starters. His opponent will be Daniel Cabrera, who lost his first start against the Marlins, as he went six innings, giving up five runs on seven hits, with an ERA of 7.50 in the Nationals’ 6-1 lost on April 8. He will be trying to give the Nationals their first win of the season.

Brett Myers win his first game of the year as the Phillies defeated the Rockies, 8-4.

In his second start of the 2009 season, Brett Myers won his first game of the year in spite of once again giving up four runs on three long balls as the Phils defeated the Rockies at Coors Field, 8-4, tying up the three games series at a victory apiece.

The Rockies took a quick 2-0 lead in the second inning as Myers gave up a two-run home run to Troy Tulowitzki, his third home run of the year, as he knocked in Brad Hawpe, who had earlier doubled. The Phillies struck back in the top of the third, as Ryan Howard knocked in three runs as he hit a bases clearing, two-out double, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who had earlier singled, Shane Victorino, who had also singled, and Chase Utley, who had walked, giving the Phils the lead, 3-2. In the fourth, the Rockies tied the game up at three all as Garrett Atkins hit a hard to believe solo home run off of Myers, his second home run of the season. The Phillies regained the lead in the fifth, as Jayson Werth hit a two-out, two-run triple, scoring Utley, who had earlier singled and had gone to third on Howard’s single, and Howard, making it a 5-3 Phillies’ lead. The Rockies got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fifth as Clint Barmes hit a lead-off, solo home run off of Myers, his first home run of the season, cutting the Phils lead down to 5-4. But that turned out to be the Rockies’ last hit, as first Myers and then the Phils’ bullpen would get out the next fifteen Rockies. Meanwhile, the Phillies slowly added to their lead. In the seventh, Raul Ibanez made it 6-4 Phils as he hit a two-out solo home run, his second home run of the year. Then in the eighth, the score became 7-4 Phillies as Utley hit a two-out RBI single, scoring Victorino, who had earlier doubled. The Phillies then scored their last run in the ninth, as Pedro Feliz knocked in Ibanez, who had earlier doubled, making it an 8-4 Phillies’ lead. Brad Lidge then came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth, pitching a 1-2-3 inning.

Brett Myers won the game for the Phils as he pitched a seven-inning four hitter against the Rockies, although giving up four runs on three home runs, and a walk, as he struck out six batters. His record is now 1-1 with a 5.54 ERA, thanks to the fact that he has given up eight earned runs on six home runs. Myers will need to cut down on the gopher balls to get his ERA lower. Ryan Madson followed Myers and pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, striking out two. Brad Lidge then came in to pitched the ninth, also pitching a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Jorge De La Rosa took the lost for the Rockies, only able to go four and two-thirds innings, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks, while he struck out three. His record is now 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA. Ryan Speier followed him, pitching a third of an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Jason Hammel then came in for two and two-third innings, as he gave up two runs on five hits and two walks, while he struck out a batter. Jason Grilli pitched a third of an inning, giving up just a walk as he struck out one. Huston Street then pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up a run on three hits as he struck out a batter. Manuel Corpas then came in for a third of an inning, getting out the only man he would face.

The Phillies had fifteen hits in the game, with Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz leading the attack with both man going three for five. Victorino had two singles and a double as he raised his average to .250, while Feliz had three singles, raising his average to .333. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez then followed with two hits each, with Utley’s two hits raising his batting average to .444. Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth and Chris Coste had the other three Phillies’ hits. Howard knocked in three of the Phils’ eight runs, Werth brought home two, and Ibanez, Utley and Feliz each knocked in a run. The Phillies’ batters also had five walks.

Carlos Ruiz has been placed on the fifteen-games disabled list because of his injured right oblique. While he’s out, Coste will be performing the catching duties as Lou Marson is called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to be the back-up catcher.

The Phillies (2-3) will this afternoon conclude their three games series with the Rockies (3-2). The game will be played at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado. Game time is at 3:10 pm Eastern time (1:10 pm Mountain). The Phillies will send to the mound Chan Ho Park, who will be starting his first game in 2009. Last year he went 4-4 with a 3.40 ERA in 54 games, including five starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has already pitched an inning in relief in 2009, with a record of 0-0 with an 0.00 ERA. He will be trying for his first win of the year while also attempting to pitch the rotation’s first quality start. The Rockies will send to the mound Aaron Cook, who pitched a two and one-third innings no-decision against the Diamonbacks on April 6, giving up six earned runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out two. His record is presently 0-0 with a rather high ERA of 23.14. Cook will be trying to improve on that bad start.

The Phillies hope to leave Denver with a series win and a .500 record in the standings, before they go on to Washington for a three games series with the Nationals in the Nation’s capitol.

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